


Thicker Than Blood - Outtakes

by DeepDisiresLonging



Series: Cousin Ambrose Collection [3]
Category: All Elite Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Gen, Outtakes, WWE vs AEW
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:33:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26777428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeepDisiresLonging/pseuds/DeepDisiresLonging
Summary: Extended and deleted scenes from the series. There were too many wrestler combinations to include in Collision Course, but I will be writing quick versions of those here. As well as including the original extended dialogue scenes.
Series: Cousin Ambrose Collection [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1685698





	Thicker Than Blood - Outtakes

From Chapter 21: Speaking Without Talking

“Are we going to talk now?”

“A few more miles.”

You still weren’t ready. 

“How’s Cincinnati?”

Your eyebrows shot up. Then you tilted your head. At least it was a start. “It’s fine. The Graeter’s in Fountain Square closed down.”

“What!”

“Most of Fountain Square is shut down. They opened a Frisch’s, though.”

He frowned and grumbled, “because Cincy needed another Frisch’s.”

The seat was uncomfortable. “Most of the good places in Cincinnati have disappeared since you moved to Vegas.” The tone of your voice didn’t have a drop of guilt-tripping in it, and he knew it. His car seat was uncomfortable too. 

“Why’d you show up tonight?”

“I was told to take my issues to the source. And I have had an issue since you crashed my announcement night.” Shifting in your seat again, you licked your lips. “I can’t seem to get out from under your shadow. I had a total career through Ohio Valley, NXT, and then you showed up. It was good to see you, I’ll admit. But I had kind of been hoping we wouldn’t meet… until November.”

“Until November?” He grinned. “Wow. I think I would have crashed your show at some point, if I hadn’t already.” A hard breath caught your attention. “If I had known the whole thing was your idea… I would have waited. I- uh. I never did get say… I’m sorry for- for crashing your ‘announcement.’”

Why were your lips so dry? Why was this making you so nervous? “Do you have any suggestions how to- how to become my own woman again?”

“Keep being you. They’ll forget or the ah, the Universe will tell them to let it go. Eventually.” The leather on the steering wheel creaked under his grip. “You don’t have to be me. I was an accident. You- you’re a whirlwind.” 

You shook your head. Under your skin, your blood was beginning to boil again. “Why do people compare us at all? So what. We share the same blood, and we were born in the same city. Big deal. We are two completely different people. I’m not you.” 

“Damn right you’re not,” he said with a grin.

“I’ve got my own legacy to build.” It came out harder than you meant, making Mox’s forehead crease. 

“Good for you. But don’t forget your roots.” 

“My roots?!” You turned in your seat. “You were struggling through the end of your run on WWE, you abandoned Cincinnati about the time I was gaining momentum, and I wanted to ask you about wrestling options. AEW was about to jumpstart. You were about to jump ship. And I couldn’t find you. Your friends in Cincy, the ones who trained both of us, couldn’t contact you. I was a nobody. What could I do? Waltz up to WWE headquarters and demand a phone call with you? I was alone. What roots do I have? I’m the one who’s kept up with our trainers. I’ve kept up with the local guys who sneaked us treats for lunch. You ran away. Left us all behind. Now that I’m in my own league, I’ve tried to make my own name. I should hate you for destroying the base I made for myself.”

“But?”

Your cheeks were warm, right under the surface. It wasn’t time to cry yet. “But I want your help. And I hate it.” 

He nodded. “That’s fair. I thought I’d never be able to escape the Shield. Every time we were in the same ring- the same building sometimes! Every time, commentary and the Universe would demand the links between us. Yes, I ran away. I needed it. What do you need? What do you need, Y/N, to move forward-”

“I want to be me!” Heaving, you gripped the handle on the door instead of digging your nails into your palms. “Every time I step into the arena I feel like I’m putting on a mask. I wear one all the time anyway, as protection. I am my own woman, my own wrestler and athlete. People know who I am as a competitor without needing to know my inner self. That is for me only. Titles are great; they show off your skill. But they’re not everything. I don’t want to lose my sense of self for anything or anyone. But now I’m having to hide everything.”

“That’s the business sometimes. You’ll handle it.”

“I don’t want to handle it. I want to just be seen as I am: the best wrestler in Cincinnati. Without having to fight against the legacy already there.”

Mox laughed. “You’re not the best in Cincinnati.”

“Yes, I am. You moved to Vegas, remember?” Just as quickly as tension had suffocated the car, it dissipated like one of you had rolled the windows down. 

Blissful silence gave you both time to think. And then Mox poked a needle into your chest. 

“You’re not going to erase me,” he said calmly. 

Pinching the bridge of your nose, you sighed. “I’m not trying to erase you. And, as angry as I am, I am proud to- to- I’m proud of us. Okay? I’m proud of us. Coming up from nowhere. But, damn, if I don’t want to punch your face in for screwing up my plans,” you ended with a giggle.

“Snot-nosed kid.” 

“Bloody bastard.” 

Mox mock gasped. “Hey, that’s your Aunt you’re insulting.”

The car shook with how hard you two laughed. As the miles rolled by, the conversation morphed into family memories. You were reminded how much you missed your cousin, and having Mox as a cousin. Both of you were little menaces before he quit high school and really dug into wrestling. Terrorizing your moms. Terrorizing the whole neighborhood. All the times you wrestled each other out of trouble. The job you both ended up in was the only option, come to think about it. 

“And then you really wailed on him,” you ended the story with a laugh. “We could do it, you know. We could fight.”

He glanced at you. “What, at Collision Course? I thought you were trying to avoid me.”

“Sure.” You shrugged. “What better way to cement my own legacy than beat you to a bloody pulp? You’re Jon Moxley. You can take it.” You winked. 

With a grin, Mox tossed back, “if you think that’s what would happen. I think it would end completely different.”

“Of course you do.”

Taking a deep breath, you had to breach one more thing. “If I asked, no matter what happens in November, would- would you ever fight me again. Or… or fight by my side. As much as I’ve fought it up till tonight, I wouldn’t mind having-

“You’re not going to convince me to come back to WWE.” 

You swallowed. Hard. And accepted. “I know.” You knew he’d never agree to something that big. But, “it’s just… the way you act and talk about… it’s like it was all bad.” 

Mox didn’t look at you. Couldn’t or wouldn’t, you couldn’t determine. 

“I know you always loved fighting. You had to fight your way out. Then- It would be… not nice, but... helpful to have a heads up about how much I’m going to have to fight from the inside. I’m not a big name yet, and I’m still sorta under the radar, give or take this whole ordeal. But I’ll probably have to fight eventually, right?”

Mox sighed and tried not to look too tired. Tried not to scare you with a look. It didn’t work. He pulled the car to the side of the road. 

“I can’t help you with the McMahons.” Just saying their name made the steering wheel creak again. “But I will fight you at Collision Course. If that’s what you want. Is it?” Finally, he looked at you. His shoulders looked as tense as your spine felt. 

“Yeah.”

He nodded. “Alrighty then. You tell your people; I’ll tell mine.” He drove back onto the highway. “And, for the record,” he looked into the cameras set up by the Bucks, “I think you’re handling the McMahons better than anyone else ever could. Me included. And I can’t wait to see what you do next, on Raw and after November.”

Now, you might cry. You swallowed it back. “Th- thank you.”

He drove to the airport, dropped off the car, and split ways from you at the gate. You headed to the next city for your job, and he headed towards his. On either side of the country. 


End file.
